You are probably thinking I’m going to gush about how inspired I was by the landscape and the fall foliage on our latest trip to Vermont but though this is beautiful it was an amazing exhibit at a small art center in the hills that really caught my attention. When my in-laws told us they were going to take us to a local art exhibit I must admit I thought I knew what I would see- well drafted watercolors and maybe some not so amazing abstracts but this exhibit titled “Illuminated Worlds, Vermont Artists draw inspiration from Infinite Realms” at Art at the Kent really blew my mind!
At first we experienced the art that was outside on the hills surrounding the art center where there were interesting sculptures. I especially liked the piece that was interactive where you got to write messages in the sand with letter stamps. We also got to look in telescopes at the sun because it was the fall equinox. My father in law was inspired to create the word Equinox in the sand.
Then we went inside and toward the exhibit. Usually when you enter an exhibit you can get an expansive view of the whole exhibit which gives you a chance to make a quick judgement about what you are going to see but this space started in a downstairs hall way with three large pieces. I was wishing I could get farther away from the work but now as I look back it was a unique experience to start right up close to art which set the tone for looking closely at the work in settings that were not typical.
A close up of the first large scale piece by Gary Bergstein.
This show was anything but your usual "local art exhibit".
Soon we were up the stairs and moving from room to room and seeing a variety of art by 25 Vermont artists. Each artist had at least 3 pieces with some showing over 15 works. A lot of times when you see group shows like this the curators will group all the art together by each artist (just think that’s always how it is at an art fair) but this was not the case at this exhibit. Each room was a wonderland of art interacting with each other and the room. You would discover fanciful plants sculpted in paper by Adrienne Ginter in the cupboard or a mixed media rat sculpture by Leslie Roth sitting on a stool seemingly staring into an abstract drawing by Gary Bergstein. I found it such a delight to pop from room to room to discover some of the same artist’s work that I had already seen displayed with new artist’s work that I was seeing for the first time. And then to go back to some rooms I had already been in to discover I had missed something hidden around the corner!
Leslie Roth's piece "Close to Open" with Gary Bergstein's wall piece.
Beyond the art work there was the next level of the “container” it was in! This aging beautiful building had a different patina in each room. Some rooms had exposed lath that told the story of its creation. My father-in-law explained that each plank of wood was separated out into strips of lath “naturally” along the lines of the wood so they are not straight but curved along the grain. Then the layers of wall paper that was partially removed added a back drop of texture unlike anything you will ever see in a “fancy fine art museum. The way the art popped off the walls and also played with the walls was fascinating.
"Maiden Voyage" Slate relief by Kerry O. Furlani
The most delightful piece was Rebecca Swartz’s Installation piece made of found plastics that filled a closet. My in-laws were so excited to see if I could “figure it out”. And since you just might be able to experience this piece yourself I’m not going to give it away! Let’s just say there is a layer of surprise that I imagine many people miss because it’s so well done!
Rebecca Swartz's installation piece "Plastic Polyps"
I commend the three curators this exhibit: Cornelia Emlen, Allyson Evans and David Schütz (Vermont’s state curator). They succeeded in not only discovering incredible art in Vermont but in designing a show that brings out the best in all the pieces as individual pieces but ties all the work together in a way that promotes discovery and wonderment in the viewer as they experience the exhibit as a whole.
Micheal Abrams' painting is like a window to another world on this fantastic wall of ripped wallpaper.
Now as I head into a month of creating in my studio for upcoming exhibits of my own it will be interesting to see how this exhibit inspires my own work. Will you see some of the textures in Megan Bogonovich’s ceramics or some of the ways Sabine Likhite used of mixed media? Or maybe I’ll be freed up a bit from the usual constraints of traditional exhibition placement when I actually display my work. Wait and see!
Sabine Likhite 's mixed media sculptures.
The colorful "plants" by Adrienne Ginter are actually made of paper!
If you can’t make it to this show in person (it runs Sept. 6th to Oct. 6th) I highly recommend clicking all the links on the Art at the Ken Website to discover every artists work. There is so much more than what I have shared here! Read what Dian Parker wrote about the about this exhibit here.